Comedians At Law to perform at Funny Bone Oct. 3

On Oct. 3, The Funny Bone will play host to an unlikely group of comedians.

Formed in 2011, Comedians At Law is a five-man team of professional attorneys turned comedians.

“We’re all attorneys and comedians,” said member Alex Barnett. “We each had independently gotten into comedy and wanted to pursue it as a career.”

Comedians At Law. Photo Courtesy Comedians At Law

As each member of Comedians At Law was pursuing his passion for comedy independently, Barnett along with Kevin Israel, Matt Ritter, JL Cauvin, Greg Collett decided it was time to group together and attack the comedy scene as a team.

“The first thing we did as a team was to discuss plans and goals. We immediately hit the social sites and put together our website, comediansatlaw.com,” Barnett said. “We immediately gained traction with college kids in law school and by early 2012 we were touring some of the larger legal markets like Chicago, Boston and New York.

Comedians At Large is enjoying rapid growth and success for several reasons. Not only do they use social media outlets to their advantage, but also they are genuinely funny.

“We don’t tell lawyer jokes” Barnett said. “The humor we’re performing is very accessible. At one level it appeals clearly and directly to the legal field because they can appreciate leaving law and pursuing something you’re passionate about. But we’re not telling lawyer jokes; they’re life jokes — jokes about being married, having kids and trying to make it economically.”

Of the five comedians who make up the comedy group, Barnett, Cauvin and Ritter will perform Oct. 13. While each member has decided to pursue comedy full-time, a few members are still somewhat active in the legal field, Barnett said.

“A couple guys still pick up some work on the side; a few others don’t even touch it any more,” Barnett said. “The reality is with comedy, there can be lulls between gigs but the goal for the whole group is simply to be comedians and we’re very serious about that. This isn’t a hobby. We’re comedians first and foremost. The reason we’re practicing law at all is because of economic reasons. It’s not so much that we’re in love with the law.”

Barnett said the group is excited to come to Toledo. They will also perform in Columbus and Cleveland while in Ohio.

“We want to keep raising our exposure level, reach out to our audience more,” Barnett said. “Just like the Blue Collar Comedy Tour [featuring Jeff Foxworthy, Larry the Cable Guy and more] appealed initially to the blue-collar audience, over time they appeal to a much broader audience. The initial hook is with the lawyers and law students, but there’s a much wider appeal here.”

Comedians At Law will perform at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 3 at The Funny Bone, 6140 Levis Commons Blvd., in Perrysburg. Admission is $20. Attendees must be 21 or older.